Dark Humour in Paramedicine and Emergency Services

Jamie Hibbert

LARU Officer

Dark humour is very common among emergency services personnel. First Responders put themselves on the front-line to see and do very traumatic things, and as a result dark humour often presents itself as a coping mechanism.

In the video above, Jamie, a Paramedic and LARU Officer with QAS, explains the psychology behind dark humour. Sometimes in order to deal with the intense moments of grief or shock, Paramedics may make light of the situation and joke about it. It could possibly come across as disrespectful, but in fact, it is just a way of coping and processing the trauma before they move on to the next call-out.

A laugh and some comic relief can be a form of therapy for emergency services personnel. They may not mean anything they are joking about, but it’s their way of getting through the really tough moments.


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